Stone Lane Gardens. Arboretum & Tree Nursery - Chagford - Dartmoor

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Address: Stone Lane Gardens Stone Farm Town: Chagford County: Devon Postcode: TQ13 8JU Telephone: 01647 231311 Email: To Email Click Here Website: Click Here Contact: Paul Bartlett Google map Click here Multimap.co.uk satellite map Click here

Description Stone Lane Gardens is a 5 acre arboretum holding important National Collections of wild-origin Birch and Alder trees in a lovely landscaped water & woodland setting. We are situated in the Dartmoor National Park, Devon; surrounded by beautiful scenery and yet only a few miles from the main roads.  High up in Devon's "Dartmoor National Park", on the southwest slope of a hill overlooking Chagford, lies 5 acres of peaceful, secluded woodland known as Stone Lane Gardens. Here is the home of a NCCPG recognised National Collection of wild-origin Birch and Alder. Here also is a specialist tree nursery, growing many varieties of Birch and Alder from all over the world. Started in 1971 by Kenneth and June Ashburner, the arboretum has now started to mature with some excellent specimen trees amongst attractive underplanting, streams and ponds. The nursery now sends plants to gardens and collections all over the country.     The arboretum is made up of two distinct areas, in all about 5 acres. Firstly, the shady woodland areas with paths, streams, boggy areas and ponds. Here you will find the more interesting underplanting of shrubs and herbacious plants. This view is of Betula utilis var. jacquemontii at the side of one of the paths. The stark, ghostly white bark makes it a very popular ornamental tree. The other part of the Arboretum is a more open, grassy slope. The closely grouped copses are mostly birch. Grouped to allow comparison between provinences, within a species. This area is particularly spectacular in Autumn, with a mass yellowing of the leaves. We run a specialist Nursery where you can buy young specimens of the beautiful trees in our Arboretum. We stock a wide range of Birch (Betula) and Alder (Alnus); both pot-grown and bare-root. Most of the trees have been raised from seed in our nursery. Some of the more popular cultivars are "grafted" by a specialist grower and then grown on at our nursery. We provide a mail-order service throughout the UK, and for westcountry residents we even offer a planting service. The nursery is open all year round and we now have a wide range of trees available in pots for spring/summer planting. Please phone before visiting to ensure someone is available to help with your tree selection. We are always happy to help and advise on any aspects of planting, suitability of soil or location, growth rates of the trees, etc. Why choose Birch & Alder? General A great advantage of Birch and Alder over other deciduous trees is their quick growth. A 4-6 foot seedling will quickly develop into a fine tree of 20 feet or so. This makes them invaluable in garden design, as they can provide a feature while the rest of the garden slowly establishes around them. In addition, they are ideal for shelter belts, reclamation of wasteland and biomass fuel. Birch These are beautiful, delicate-looking trees that look great in large groups or as a little cluster of three trees. They have some of the most amazing bark. From the stark ghostly white of the jacquemontii; to the shades of cream and orange of the ermanii; through to the pinks, reds and oranges of albosinensis and the dark browns and cherry reds of certain utilis varieties. As if the colour weren't enough, the bark peels off the trunk throughout the year. This  provides an amazing flame-like effect when backlit by the sun, as the peeling bark looks almost transparent. The delicate toothed leaves of Birch provide a soft, dappled shade. Lastly, although they look delicate, most birch are extremely tough and will grow virtually anywhere. Alder Whilst not having the showy bark of their cousins, the Alders do have very attractive catkins. The spring displays of alders like th e maximowiczii and hirsuta are lovely (far more impressive than the humble hazel or willow). The big green catkins of the maximowizcii can reach 5-6 inches in length. The leaves too are larger and more attractive (if less delicate). Barks tend to be grey and smooth, apart from the barbata or the mighty subcordata which have rough, fissured bark. The Alders tolerance of water-logged soil is one of it's most useful features. This allows planting of trees in areas most other trees would keel over and die in.